MSC Yacht club vs NCL Haven

[AEckhardt]

If you book a suite/Haven, you are not charged the 18% on the UBP nor the SDP.

Guest is responsible for 18% gratuities & service charges on the retail value of the Ultimate Beverage Package and/or Soda Package prior to cruise, except when booking a Haven or Suite. - T&C

 

.

 

 

That was not always the case. T&C can change with each months variation of their promos. As I said, this is dependent on when you booked and what the T&C was for that promotion at that time. Over the past few years that NCL has offered those packages, it has evolved.

 

If someone booked their Haven Suite that sails, say, this Saturday back when the T&C for their promotion required them to pay the 18%, they would still be required to do so, unless they canceled and rebooked under a promotion that did cover all tips for the drink and dining packages.

 

So again, the Haven perks of UBP and SDP are at the mercy of NCL and their monthly promotions, unlike the YC.

 

 

 

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[Beamafar]

As of April 2017, YC will include free drinks everywhere in the ship. This is regardless of promotions.

 

......... when NCL started their "Freestyle" promos, their prices jumped dramatically. You're paying for it, one way or another.

 

 

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As did prices for the YC to coincide with the inclusion of 'free drinks' outside the enclave!

Edited January 27, 2017 by Beamafar

[sverigecruiser]

As did prices for the YC to coincide with the inclusion of 'free drinks' outside the enclave!

 

I have no previous experience of MSC but they are still supercheap compared to the suites on NCL!

 

The biggest problem with YC seems to be that they sell out too fast! (Maybe they are still too cheap even if the price has gone up?)

[graphicguy]

As of April 2017, YC will include free drinks everywhere in the ship. This is regardless of promotions.

 

The Haven itself does not necessarily come with free drinks (except Owners and Garden Villas) and is only included because of NCLs current promotions. You are also required to pay an 18% service charge based on the UBP price, depending on promo received. (Some months covered the gratuity, some months did not.) Yes, this has been a long standing promotion, but that which can be given, can be taken away.

 

Also, when NCL started their "Freestyle" promos, their prices jumped dramatically. You're paying for it, one way or another.

 

 

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Didn't know that about "drinks everywhere" beginning 4/2017. Where have they published this? I'm planning a cruise in November and that may swing me to MSC YC.

 

WIth NCL, it seems things started going south pretty quickly when Kevin Sheehan left as President. Not sure who the new guy is, but prices went up, and services went down as a result. If that had not happened, I'd still be an NCL customer instead of looking elsewhere.

[AEckhardt]

Didn't know that about "drinks everywhere" beginning 4/2017. Where have they published this? I'm planning a cruise in November and that may swing me to MSC YC.

 

 

 

WIth NCL, it seems things started going south pretty quickly when Kevin Sheehan left as President. Not sure who the new guy is, but prices went up, and services went down as a result. If that had not happened, I'd still be an NCL customer instead of looking elsewhere.

 

 

 

The YC expanding their inclusive drinks to the entire ship has been confirmed by MSC reps after an email was sent out from higher ups. I haven't seen anything officially published, but I haven't been looking, either.

 

I agree with your thoughts on NCL. Frank Del Rio is captain of that ship now, so to speak. He has luxury line experience but I think he's forgetting the base clientele for NCL and out pricing them. Shortly after he implemented a lot of the new changes, we started looking for other options and that landed us here, with MSC.

 

Sadly, I sail next month and will miss out on the YC changes that are to come, but if all goes well, and I'm sure it will, we will book YC for the Seaside.

 

I never rule out NCL completely, but I'd probably sail from NYC or Boston (my home port) rather than fly, because of the added expenses. I'm actually quite intrigued the Escape is coming to New York.

[Sissaaaaaa]

Hi David, we have sailed in NCL suites multiple times in both Haven and non-haven cabins. We just returned from our 2nd MSC Divina Yacht Club cruise. We love the YC. In my opinion, the amenities of the YC with the private venues easily out-perform NCL's Haven facilities and the service is superior. If I had any YC negatives, it would be the cabins and bathrooms are smaller. We can live with that when the YC facilities and service are far better that the Haven. We got lucky and scored a YC3 Royal Suite on our first MSC cruise. On our 2nd, we were in a standard YC1. The Royal Suite was fantastic but there is only two on the ship and they book up fast. Hope this helps.

 

How does the food compare? We just had an awesome experience in the Haven on the Epic. Everything - service, food, staff, just exceeded our expectations. Unfortunately, the pricing is just absurd.

[Sissaaaaaa]

I sailed divina YC in June and had posh passes on epic in December. Just the facts:

 

1. Service goes to ncl hands down. I was rarely asked for a drink refill in YC. In posh the drinks kept flowing without me having to ask.

 

2. Comfort goes to posh. They have double bed loungers, single loungers, and clam shell loungers and all of them come with thick padding. YC had loungers only (no Padding).

 

3. Shade goes to posh. There is zero shade at one pool unless you are sitting at tables near the bar. There is no shade for Loungers. Posh also had moveable umbrellas that weren't in YC.

 

4. Food again posh. One pool has a nice little salad bar and some other entries, but one day the other entry was cold meatloaf (I posted pictures in my live June review). In posh you order from a menu and food is brought right to your lounger. We had swordfish burgers and nachos which were excellent, but there was more choices on the menu.

 

5. Posh is adult only. Not to say that one pool was overrun with kids, but there were kids splashing in the pool each day.

 

6. Pool goes to YC since posh has no water feature.

 

With all that said, YC is a better value than haven simply because it costs half the money. But for me, some of the basic extra touches were missing in YC.

 

I know my opinion is in the minority here, but I'm just posting what I experienced first hand.

 

 

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With all due respect, you didn't stay in the Haven. You purchased posh passes - unless I am reading your review wrong. You can't compare.

 

The Haven has it's own pool, pool bar, restaurant, bar, etc. Posh is only one little slice.

[happy cruzin]

The YC expanding their inclusive drinks to the entire ship has been confirmed by MSC reps after an email was sent out from higher ups. I haven't seen anything officially published, but I haven't been looking, either.

 

I agree with your thoughts on NCL. Frank Del Rio is captain of that ship now, so to speak. He has luxury line experience but I think he's forgetting the base clientele for NCL and out pricing them. Shortly after he implemented a lot of the new changes, we started looking for other options and that landed us here, with MSC.

 

Sadly, I sail next month and will miss out on the YC changes that are to come, but if all goes well, and I'm sure it will, we will book YC for the Seaside.

 

I never rule out NCL completely, but I'd probably sail from NYC or Boston (my home port) rather than fly, because of the added expenses. I'm actually quite intrigued the Escape is coming to New York.

 

The MSC website refers to the upcoming changes:

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Already-Booked/Cruise-Upgrade/All-Inclusive-Packages.aspx

[AEckhardt]

The MSC website refers to the upcoming changes:

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Already-Booked/Cruise-Upgrade/All-Inclusive-Packages.aspx

 

 

 

That link brings you to the drink packages you can purchase, and the only changes with those, coming Summer 2017, is the name.

[happy cruzin]

That link brings you to the drink packages you can purchase, and the only changes with those, coming Summer 2017, is the name.

 

 

Yes - but it's the only thing that I've seen yet that even mentions the upcoming changes.

 

I was also told by someone that had sailed the YC on the Divina that the YC drink package was the Allegrissimo package. So I figured that that MSC will assign one of their existing packages as the YC drink package on the Seaside....no???

 

 

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[Beamafar]

Didn't know that about "drinks everywhere" beginning 4/2017. Where have they published this? I'm planning a cruise in November and that may swing me to MSC YC.

 

If you check out the website under "Experiences" you'll see it stated:

 

http://www.msccruises.ie/en-ie/Cruise-Deals/Our-Fares.aspx

 

Under "Fares by Experience" scroll down to 'MSC Yacht Club', click on 'Read more' - there's an asterisk against the "Unlimited drinks" line - scroll further down to see that the asterisk denotes the following:

 

* From Summer 2017, unlimited beverage selection will also be available in all bars and restaurants of the ship according to the drink selection available in the (sic) each venue

Edited January 28, 2017 by Beamafar

[BermudaBound2014]

Hi, BermudaBound:)

 

Were you in a suite and also got Posh passes, or just got the Posh passes?

 

Before booking Silhouette, I was looking at Norwegian. We have been in suites on them before but now their prices are just crazy. Especially if you book a suite and then have to try to get Posh (mainly to have a little peace and quiet).

 

Did you have to run to get the Posh pass? On the Norwegian boards people post that they get to the port at 9 am or earlier just to get in line so they can get the passes.

 

Hi there Mafig :). We booked a balcony guarantee to test how we felt about sailing during Christmas. I simply couldn't pass up the last minute price. We arrived at the port around 11:45 and I went straight to guest services. No problems for me and it was some of the best $59.00 ever spent. Service in Posh was significantly better than service in any area of YC.

 

Enjoy the Silhouette. I've been eyeing her for a long time. She's beautiful. My next up is Anthem during spring break. Going to do some Iflyin' :)

[BermudaBound2014]

With all due respect, you didn't stay in the Haven. You purchased posh passes - unless I am reading your review wrong. You can't compare.

 

The Haven has it's own pool, pool bar, restaurant, bar, etc. Posh is only one little slice.

 

I respectfully disagree about the relevance of my comparison, but apologize if I mislead anyone into thinking I had actually stayed in Haven. I'm way too frugal for Haven. I sailed 31 days in 2016 for the absurd price NCL wants for a 7 days in Haven. :eek:

 

I thought my post was reasonably clear but for clarity sake: Like One-pool, Posh is an outside area with it's own bar. It is included for Haven guests, but for $59.00 those not staying in Haven can purchase Posh passes to access all the services of the Posh area. In my experience, the services (as outlined in my response) regarding my little slice of Posh heaven, blew away the entire YC area. I find that relevant. For those that find my limited experience irrelevant, please disregard.

 

With that being said, I still think YC is a significantly better value than Haven! It's highly doubtful I will ever try Haven at the current pricing structure, but I would YC again and again. IMO, the key difference between the two lies in managed expectations. :).

[graphicguy]

Didn't notice price change from my YC cabin on Divina last Oct and the price I'm looking at for the Nov '17 cruise I'm booking on the Meriviglia in the YC.

 

If true, happy to hear that adult beverages will be available in the other venues outside of the YC.